School district responds to transgender student’s lawsuit

12/5/17 4:12 PM

PALATINE, Ill. — A suburban Chicago school district facing a lawsuit over a transgender student’s use of the girls’ locker room says the allegations misrepresent the accommodations extended to the student.

Nova Maday, 18, filed a lawsuit last week alleging that Township High School District 211 in Palatine initially denied her use of the girls’ locker room and later restricted her to a private area in the locker room where no one else was required to change, the Chicago Tribune reported .

“It felt humiliating,” Maday said. “It really felt like they were making me stand out and pushing me off to the side, in a literal sense.”

District Superintendent Daniel Cates said Friday that the district has provided support to transgender students.

“Every transgender student in District 211 who has requested use of the locker room of their identified gender has been offered such access, along with other supports within an individual support plan.”

Another transgender student filed a federal complaint against the district in 2013. That student also sought access to the girls’ locker room. The complaint marked the first time a school district was found to have violated Title IX based on gender identity. Administrators eventually agreed to let the student use the girls’ locker room and also installed privacy walls.

District officials said the latest lawsuit’s allegations don’t align with what the district has provided to Maday and other transgender students.

The student in the 2013 case was identified publicly only as “Student A.” Maday said it was important for her that her identity be made public during the legal process, though she said she is concerned about facing backlash.

“It was a difficult decision, but I think the right decision. For a long time, I was scared to put myself out there,” Maday said. “As scary as it can be, the world is changing. It’s becoming a more accepting place.”

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